Ok, maybe Jess is better boyfriend material than Dean. Dean would've thrown such a fit if he was in Jess's situation and that was number one flaw of his, imo. That's so low of Dean to pretend to be Rory's friend when he just wants her to date him again.
Though I don't like that every time we see Rory and Jess now that they're dating, they're either kissing or disagreeing on smth. They did that with Rory and Dean too. The writers establish common interests and attractive factors before they date and when they start dating they think that we will still think them compatible? At least we saw Dean reading the books Rory suggested after they started dating. Why do all the time the talk they have to be disagreeing, I get that a show needs conflict but come on.
Emily Gilmore learning from Lorelai! Love that for her. Really interested to see further Emily/Trix dynamics. And Trix having nothing to say about Lorelai's house? What was that about haha (in a good way).
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-10-10T00:46:54Z
[7.6/10] There were three main stories here: one meh, one pretty good, and one great, so let’s take them in ascending order of quality.
When Paris is being uncharacteristically lax about school and student council, Francine sees the opportunity to step in and usurp Paris (to the tune of getting a fancy venue for prom rather than a telescope for the class gift). The prep school power struggle just doesn’t do much for me. As much as the student council is important to Paris, the stakes feels so low, that you need a compelling clash of personalities to make it work. And while it’s nice to see Rory stand up to Francine on Paris’s behalf, their back-and-forth is forced gangster-as-teenager dialogue, and Francine is too one-note to make for a good antagonist.
The silver medal winner of the episode is the change in the balance of power between Rory, Jess, and Dean now that Jess is the boyfriend and Dean is the meddlesome potential suitor. I’ll cop to some schadenfreude here, but there’s something pleasant about seeing Jess get a taste of his own medicine, where he starts to learn how unfun it is to have to worry that some “just a friend” is sidling up the person you’re dating. To top it off, Clara (Dean’s little sister) pestering Jess and penetrating his all-too-cool shield of above it all-ness is pitch perfect.
And Rory and Dean rebuilding their friendship, talking about how weird it feels for them to simply be out of one another’s lives entirely, feels real as to how these sorts of relationships go. It’s not clear whether Dean’s intentions are pure and he’s just needling Jess for the fun of it, or he’s actually planning a comeback, but either way, that part of the episode works.
But the best part of the episode is the unexpected appearance of Gran (Richard’s mother, Lorelai Sr.) and the effect she has on the rest of the family, particularly Emily. It’s nice to see how Gran’s presence puts Emily in the position her daughter usually occupies -- constantly feeling like she’s a lightning rod for criticism where all of her actions expose her to unwanted scrutiny. Lorelai teaching Emily how to not care, to find amusement in ticking her mother in law off, and to resist just a little bit, the same way that Lorelai does with Emily herself, is a delight, and it’s nice to see the two of them on the same page for once.
Plus, it must be said that the physical comedy in this episode is just superb. The way that Emily vindictively eats her green beans so as to delay Gran’s tightly-scheduled array of courses is laugh-out-loud funny. Sookie’s frantic reenactment of how she ripped her outfit presages Melissa McCarthy’s career as a physical comic. And the piece de resistance is the silent conga line of the whole Gilmore clan roaming around Lorelai’s house as Gran performs her inspection. I doubt Lorelai Sr. is really coming to stay for good (after cleaning up after Korn, naturally) but if it leads to more scenes like that, I hope she does.
All-in-all, this was a largely enjoyable episode that, save for a warmed over student council story, has a lot to offer.